Rafael Lozano-Hemmer · Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

Internationally renowned for his monumental public art installations, Mexican-Canadian new media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer debuted more intimate interactive work in his second United States solo show. At the crossroads of architecture and theater, Lozano-Hemmer's work redefines the meaning of "interactivity," using technologies of surveillance to engage participants in an active, critical way. The exhibition featured installations reflecting his preoccupations with computer vision, portraiture, and phantasmagoria. On view were the world premieres of Close Up and Third Person (2006), the latest creations of his "Shadow Box" series, and Standards and Double Standards (2004), hailed by Beaux Arts Magazine as "Best of the Art Basel Fair." Close Up creates the viewer's image with hundreds of tiny videos of other people who have recently looked at the work — up to 800 recordings simultaneously triggered inside the viewer's silhouette. Third Person draws the viewer's portrait in real time with hundreds of tiny words, all English and Spanish verbs conjugated in the third person. Standards and Double Standards features a dozen buckled belts hanging from stepper motors on the ceiling, automatically rotating to follow visitors via a computerized tracking system. The exhibition also included Under Scan Portraits — Lambda prints, video, and a book of signatures from the 800 participants in the Under Scan public art installation.

Works